Work Text:
They were all happy. Laughing. Celebrating the new year together in that week's hideout; an abandoned factory at the edge of Musutafu.
All of them were gathered around the fire that they had built for warmth, booze and weed spread out on the floor. Magne was braiding Tomura's hair as he nursed a shitty beer, Compress resting on her shoulder. Twice was laying on the ground, Dabi's jacket balled up as a makeshift pillow under his head. Dabi, Spinner, and Toga sat side-by-side, Toga leaning slightly against his shoulder. It was nice, their family. However broken it might have been.
"-But yeah, that's why I decided to become a villain. If at the least I had wanted to be a vigilante. What about you, Tomura?" Spinner nodded at their leader who had originally questioned him on why he joined. Toga and Twice's stories were already well known amongst the group, but everyone else kept their past to themselves. Tomura adjusted his legs, scratching at his neck gently.
"My grandma was a hero. All Might's teacher, actually. When her husband was killed by villains, she chose that bastard over her own son, and put my father up for adoption. He hated heroes, and when I was little I loved them. All Might, especially. It made him angry, so he hit me. A lot. And when I got my quirk, he tried to kill me because I scared him. When I ended up in the streets, nobody helped me- hero or citizen. But Master saved me, gave me a home. So I wanted to make him proud." Tomura scratched a little harder on his neck, and shrugged. "But now I just keep it up cause I wanna see that Deku kid dead."
"Shit," Magne muttered. "My parents just disowned me when I came out. Now my sob story doesn't sound as pitiful." Tomura giggled slightly.
"Drowning in three inches of water has the same result as drowning in three feet- you end up dead in both scenarios." Sako commented.
"Well what about you? Since you're so wise?" Tomura poked the elder man.
Sako shrugged. "I knew many people only turned to villainy due to poverty, and I had more money than I could spend on myself. So I decided to help people."
Toga rubbed her eyes and yawned, using Shuichi to get comfortable. "More people should be good, like you. Then maybe others wouldn't be bad."
Magne nodded, and Jin hummed in agreement.
A few silent moments went by, the fire in front of them hypnotizing their eyes.
"Hey Dabi?" Toga asked hesitantly. "How come you never talk about where you came from?" She played with the hem of her sweatshirt, fighting sleep.
The fire user leaned his head against the post he was using to support his body, and looked up at the patchy ceiling above them. He sighed heavily, and shrugged.
"Don't remember too much to tell. When Giran saved me, I asked him to erase my memories. It worked for the most part." Dabi paused, and looked over to Toga "All I remember is I hurt a lot, hated my parents, 'n loved my siblings. The only people that know who I was before are Giran and Jin."
"Oh."
Later, they would resume their festivities, but with one less group member. Dabi had moved further away to be alone with his thoughts.
His mind was murky when he tried to think of the time before he was safe. Red and white often clashed, and screamed, and hit. He remembered bruising as dark as his skin was scarred now. He remembered the fear. It drove him, made him angry, fed his flames.
Dabi took a sip of his drink as he heard footsteps approaching. A familiar and welcomed figure sat down beside him, and he offered it the bottle.
"Thanks." Jin took it, and got cozy against Dabi. He lifted his mask enough to uncover his mask and downed some of the whiskey, putting the bottle down on the floor between their legs. Jin replaced his mask on his face, and cleared his throat. "You ok?"
Dabi hummed. "Yeah. Just tired."
Jin nodded. "You- you know if you want me to, I'd tell you, right?" He nervously looked over at the other man. "Fuck off, I ain't telling you shit!"
Dabi was unphased by Twice's outburst. "Yeah. You don't need to."
Jin's eyes softened ever so slightly. "Oh.. When did you figure it out?" He carefully traced shapes on the palm of Dabi's hand.
"At that first raid. I fucking knew Shouto's name. I wish I never did."
Jin swallowed. "I'm sorry. I wish you didn't either."
They both sat quiet for a moment, minds deep in thought.
Dabi leaned against Jin, letting out a deep sigh. "You'll always be my brother more than they ever will. Don't forget that."
Jin smiled. "I gotta get better at this big brother business, huh?" He let out a brief chuckle, and shut his eyes. "See you in the morning."
Dabi squeezed his hand, and shut his eyes. "G'night."
.
Later, when everyone else had gone to sleep, Sako would tuck in the two boys with Dabi's coat, and leave them a water bottle to combat their inevitable hang over.
And, for one night, they were all a perfect family.